Gay Adoption Policy Analysis

Social attitudes about family life have undergone profound changes in recent decades. While public acceptance of homosexuality remains a deeply decisive issue, adoption by gays and lesbians has become increasingly acceptable, with 46% of the national population favoring gay adoption. (Pew Research Center, 2006) In New York State, statutes developed to permit gays to adopt are among the most permissive in the nation. New York Adoption Code 18 NYCRR 421.16 (h)(2) (2004) states that "applicants shall not be rejected solely on the basis of homosexuality", which expressly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation when determining who may adopt. According to The Children's Defense Fund, 14,840 children in New York were awaiting adoption from foster care in 2006. Across the United States, there were 126,000 children waiting to be adopted from foster care in 2006. (Children's Defense Fund) Laws that ban gay people from adopting, or those that specifically don't prohibit discrimination in adopting and fostering are of critical importance to the LGBT community because labeling a group of people as unfit to parent can be construed as an attack on their humanity. Laws protecting homosexuals in the process of adoption affect not only members of the LGBT community, but also the many children awaiting adoption. Children who grow up without families are much less likely to grow into responsible adults.(Casey Family Services, 2004) Those who age out of foster care are at high risk for dropping out of school, being unemployed, experiencing homelessness, and getting involved with drugs and criminal activity. In the late 1970's and 1980's, it was recognized that children were lingering in the foster care system, being placed in a series of homes, and never part of a long term plan, other than to remain in care. The idea of permanency planning is based on the belieft that the preferred plan for a child who cannot return home is adoption, and that every child adoptable. (Leighninger, 2004) Permanency planning became a part of national social welfare policy with the passage of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980. (Leighninger, 2004) In an attempt to reduce the number of children in foster care, new permanency guidelines in the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 have led to an increased number of children in the child welfare system who need homes, while there is a growing number of non-traditional families who want to adopt. In addition to the terrible human costs of denying children access to qualified adoptive parents, excluding gays and lesbians from adopting would impose significant economic costs on a state, considering that foster care costs money. Prohibiting discrimination against homosexuals in an application to adopt came only a year after New York state enacted a Sexual Orientation Non Discrimination Act, which outlawed antigay discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodation, educations and credit throughout the sate. (Office of the NYS Attorney General, 2007)

II.Historical Analysis

Homosexuality has existed since humans have been documenting history. However, only since recent decades have laws been instituted to protect gays from discrimination in some instances. Historically, gays have been discriminated against for centuries, through denial of equal treatment in courts, housing, and employment, and by being targets for violence and harassment. (Human Rights Campaign, 2006) The federal government denies employment in the CIA, and the Army to gays who are open about their homosexuality. Homosexuality was also labeled a felony crime by imposed laws against sodomy, which weren't ruled unconstitutional until 2003. (Lawrence v. Texas, 2003) Homosexuals are often compared with other minority groups and many were inspired by the African American Civil Rights movement led by Martin Luther King, Jr.. His ideas...

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...Should gay couple adopt children? Are gay couples capable of raising children with as much
devotion as a normal couple? The answer is certainly a “No!”. Adoption of children by
homosexual couples is a very controversial topic. National Adoption week in the
United Kingdom in October 2000 saw a drive to encourage gay couples to adopt, in order to find
homes for thousands of orphan children. At present, many democratic countries like United
States of America, United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden,and Iceland have regarded
gayadoption as an important area of gay rights. However, I believe that gay couples should
not adopt children, as children of gay couples will be confused about their own sexual identity,
will be raised in a promiscuous environment,and will fail to understand traditional values.
First of all, gay couples are abnormal, which will create an uncertainty for the children. Research
in the US (Univ. of Illinois Law Review, 1997) finds that children raised in homosexual
households are significantly more likely to question their sexuality. In addition, a child’s primary
role models are his or her parents. Raising a heterosexual child in a gay household gives the a
distorted view of minority sexuality, just as a girl brought up by two men would fail...

...denied basic rights that are not denied to heterosexuals.
The gayadoption process is very rigorous, including extensive home visits and interview of prospective parents. It is designed to screen out those individuals who are not qualified to adopt or e foster parents, for whatever reason. All of the evidence shows that lesbians and gay men can and do make good parents. At the present time a lot of celebrities adopted children. For example: Elton John. I think everyone knows him and he I of the famous singers in the world. Gay couples aren’t different from regular ones. They can also be good and loving parents. The children of gay couples will grow up with pluralistic views about human relationships and about diversity among them. Children can to accept and understand people that differ from everyone else, for certain reasons. The adoption process is taking a lot of time, if a gay couple is patient enough and is willing a baby that much to go through the long process that means they will try their best to be good parents. Having different sexuality is not relevant to parenting, at all. The most important thing for an adopted child is to live with a family that needs him. Gay couples are able to give them as much love and attention as any other couples.
Today, in America, there are thousands of children reported to be living in homes with at least...

...members. However, more and more families are same sex parents, adding another side to the idea of the family unit. Adoption by homosexual couples is controversial, and it’s important to consider the advantages and disadvantages as well.
I feel that homosexuals who adopt can be just as loving and nurturing as a traditional family adoption. Studies show that same sex parents are more stable than heterosexual parents; and according to Fredrick Hertz, are more likely to stay together. A stable house is ideal for an adopted child.
Children, who are raised in homes with two dads or two moms, are unlikely to be homophobic. When you grow up in that type of environment the child is more open to different views and beliefs. In a perfect world we would have no sin; however we live in a very fallen, sinful world. There are choices and consequences that find ourselves dealing with in this time. More often than not, you see people conforming to the ways of the world and homosexuality is no exception. It is so accepted today and so wide spread that homosexual adoption was bound to become an issue to discuss. With the number of homosexual's increasing and the desire for them to offer their heart and homes to an abandoned child, this option seems viable. Love should win out when a child is involved. Not politics or public opinion but love.
Even though gay marriage isn't favored in religious views, if that family...

...Policy Problem
The policy that I reviewed and consist of a problem is the issue with the gayadoptionpolicy or in the correct terms, known as LGBT adoption, which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and transgender people. Currently the policy only allows Adoption by same-sex couples in Guam, Andorra, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada and in the U.S., some states allow that a "step-child adoption is allowed." The main issue that the policy proposed and is considered very controversial for most people to accept is the concern regarding whether or not a same sex couple would show proper influence for the child's growth. With all the problems that the policy state and limit the rights to same sex parent, people tend to avoid the obvious and proven fact that all the issues addressed by the policy is not true. It is evident in many case studies and event to see that many of the problem such as gender roles, sexual orientation of children and the concerning fitness of parents have been proven false.
In a example, ", a survey by the Christian conservative Family Research Council claims that there is a correlation between homosexuality and pedophilia in men and that caution over the suitability of gay parents, in...

...The issue of adoption has caused much controversy in the United States. There are people who are for it and people who are against it. Each side uses many arguments to defend in what they believe. People who believe that gayadoption is bad say that letting homosexuals adopt children is bad for the children and it harms them. According to a study done by Paul and Kirk Cameron, children in 48 out of 52 families being raised by homosexuals experience problems that include hypersexuality, instability, molestation, and domestic violence. There are also clinical reports of psychiatric disturbances of children with homosexual parents. In 1996 the U.S government did a sex survey. That survey found that the oldest lesbian was 49 years old and that the oldest gay was 54 years old. This survey shows that children raised by homosexuals are more likely to lose a parent to death at a young age. People who are against gay and lesbian adoption also say that children raised by homosexuals are worse off in school than children raised by heterosexual parents. In a study done by Sotirois Sarantakos in 1996, children of homosexuals were the least popular, they experienced the lowest level of parental involvement, and they had parents with the lowest expectations. Another reason people say that homosexual adoption is bad is because according to the Family Research Institute and the Family Research...

...GayAdoption:
Should same sex couples adopt children?
In today’s society many families are not your traditional family consisting of a father, a mother, and their children. They are now composed of step parents, half siblings, foster parents, step siblings and even adopted siblings and parents. Adoption has become significantly more popular than ever before. According to Accept Adoptions, in 2002, there were a total of 20,099 adoptions from all countries. To date, this was the largest number of international adoptions in U.S. History. Between 1992 and 1998, international adoptions rose from 6,500 to more than 15,000. Many couples, parents, and single adults are relying on adoption to have children for many different reasons. Some women are unable to have children while others would like to help out children who do not have a family of their own.
Gayadoption is when two people of the same sex adopt a child together and create their own family. Do you think that same sex adoption is okay? Is it ethical or morally correct? Will it affect the child’s social development? Do you think it’s fair to the child? Can those two parents provide the same amount of love and nurture as two parents of the opposite sex?
We live in a very judgmental society. Other people may tell their children that it’s not normal to have two...

...Moral Issues
Final Paper
GayAdoption:
Gays Should Be Allowed to Adopt Children
Political scientists define political tolerance as the willingness of individuals to respect the democratic rights of groups they don’t like. For example, people are tolerant under this definition if they do not like evangelical Christians, but they are willing to allow group members to run for political office, teach children, or hold political rallies. However, some political theorists argue for a view of political tolerance that requires more from people (Moore 1). According to these theorists, people should take action to protect each other’s freedom to be different. Such an obligation should lead people to help others who belong to unpopular groups, so they can “lead the good life” and share in society’s benefits. It is also found that among those prejudiced against gays and lesbians, positive tolerance leads to some support for the rights of gays and lesbians to both marry and adopt children. Some of the positively tolerant people overlook their negative group effect to support gays and lesbians in “living the good life” (Moore 1).
Allowing gay males to marry and raise a family continues to be a controversial issue. There are many arguments in support of preventing gay males from adopting children. The most common argument is that...